Concrete floor construction



Aug. 19 192-4,

E. E. SEELYE CONCRETE FLOOR CO NSTRUCTION Fil'ed Oct. 20. 1920 M m w A HORNE) Patented Aug. 19, 1924. I 5

omrsn STATES.

ELWYN a. SEELYE, or WHITE PLAINs, NEW.

JPATENTVEOFF ICE.

YORK.

' oolvonnrn FLOOR oonsrancrron.

Application filed October 20, 1920 Serial No..418,177.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELWYN E. 'SEELYE, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of White Plains, in the county of WVestchester and State of New York,.have invented certain new and useful Improve ments in Concrete Floor Constructions, of which the following is a specification.

In the construction of concretefioors it is often desirable to form spacedchambers on.

the under side with reinforced beam members therebetween, so as to materially reduce the weight of the floor without correspondingly reducing the strength. One way in which this has been accomplished is by placing on the mainform a series of secondary forms presenting top andside walls, and

of such size and so spaced as to permit the easy, quick and proper placing on themain I frame.

In its preferred embodiment, each (unit of the secondary form includeslight wooden frame members serving to support thin wooden top and side walls, theunder side as well as the ends being preferably left open. The units rest on the main form so that the latter closes the underside and they are arranged end to end to thus preventconcreteentering the units. The units at the end of a serles may each have an end wall if such units are to be spaced from a vertical wall of the main form or other structural part. i

The thin wooden walls of the units may be reinforced or strengthened by wires eX- tending across the grain of the wood and secured to the thin wood by staples or other inexpensive and easily applied fastening devices. As one important advantage of my construction the workman may easily knock out an end frame of a unit'and' spread the thin walls slightly, so as to permit one unit to telescope over another in case the space to be filled is slightly longer than the total length of a definite number of such units,

of the floor. In the accompanying drawings:

Due was thinness and flexibility of the walls this telescoping does not materially reduce the depth of the space above the unit, nor the width of the space between adjacent rows of units- As an important featuraeach unit mayhave abottom wall formed of metal lathin'g' of any suitable character such as expanded metal, and of a length equal to the length ofthe unit, but of a width somewhat greater than the width of the unit so that the projecting side edges serve to space the units to'the desired distance for the width ofa beam. After the l pouring and setting of the concrete and the removal of ithe'maln form, the under su'r-' face of the floor willpresent a substantially continued surface of metal lathing ready for I the application of the plaster. Due to the low cost of manufacture of the units, they may be left in the floor after the setting of the concrete, so as to form a permanent part Figure 1 is a perspective viewof a portion of a floor constructed in accordance with my I invention,

Figure '3 is a perspective view of a unit having lathing carried thereby, and

Figure 4 1s a sectional detailshowing'the p attachment of a reinforcing wire tot-hethin wooden wall of a unit.

'Figure 2 is a perspective view of one unit,

For use in constructing the floor I provide a plurality of units each ofwhich may be made as shown in Figure 2. This unit includes a plurality 'ofspaced frames, three being illustrated, one at each end of the unit,

Each

and one intermediate of the ends. I formgincluddes a top or transverse wooden strlp 10, and a pair of upright or side strips .11 nailed or otherwise rigidly secured there In order to give "the frame the desired rigidity, one or more additional frame members may be employed. Such, additional frame members may include a bottom strip 12 or diagonal corner-pieces 13, or both, or other .fastening elements. The frames serve to support a top wall 14 and a pair of side walls 15 which maybe made of very thin but comparatively strong wood. Al-

though I donot wish to be limited to any specific dimensionsl have found that for use in constructing the ordinary floor each unit may be approximately 10 inches high by 20 inches .wide, and of any suitable length as for instance two or threefeet. The

stock forthe top and side walls maybe not materially over one quarter of an inch, although in some cases even thinner stock might be employed. To reinforce and strengthen these thin side walls I preferably employ reinforcing elements in the form of wires 16 extending across the grain of the the units with either end walls or a bottom wall, as the lower open side may rest directly on the main form, and the units may be arranged end to end in spaced rows. If desired, certain of the units intended for use at theend of a row may each have one end wall, such as 23, particularly if it is not desired to-have the end units abutt directly against a sidewall of the main form, an I beam or other temporary or permanent structural part.

Each unit may be provided with a bottom wall of metal lathing as shown in Figured Here each member has a transverse bar 18 of a length slightly greater than the width of the unit, and to this transverse bar is nailed or otherwise secured, a sheet 19 of metal lathing such, for instance as expanded metal. The distance to which the transverse members 18 and the lathing extend beyond the side walls of the unit is dependent upon the width of the beam portion which it is desired to leave between adjacent chambers or spaces in the walls. For instance, if it is desired to form beams 6 inches wide, the members 18 and 19 may extend out three inches on each side of the unit, so that they willserve for the proper lateral spacing of the units and present a substantially continuous surface of metal lathing after the hardening of the concrete and the removal of the main form.

Thus

the ceiling is ready for the application of s the plaster and Without requiring the services of skilled lathers.

In constructing the floor the units are spaced apart laterally to the desired width, as shown in Figure 1, and rest directly upon the main form. Successive units abutt end to end so as to leave the continuous channels in which may be placed metallic reinforcing bars 20, of any desired character, and the concrete to form the beams 21. The walls of the unit are of suflicientstrength to resist any lateral pressure by the concrete going to make up said beams, and to support the necessary thickness of concrete forming the floor 22 between adjacent beams. In fact,

the units as constructed are sufficiently strong to permit an ordinary workman to step on the form without danger of breaking it down. It will be evident that if it is desired to form transverse beams aswell as longitudinal ones, each unit may havetwo end walls and the units may be spaced apart lengthwise as well as laterally.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by .Letters Patent is I 1. A form for concrete floor construction including a plurality of wooden frames,

thin wooden top and side walls secured thereto, transverse strips carried by each frame at its lower edge and having its ends projecting beyond said side. walls, and a bottom wall of metal lathing secured to said stripst 2. A form for use in concrete floor, construction vcomprising top and side walls of wood of thickness not exceeding one-quarter inch, frames spacedat intervals supporting said top and side walls, and reinforcing wires extending transversely of the grain of the wood of said top and side walls and se cured to said walls between adjacent frames.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 19th day of October, A. D. 1920.

EL'WYN E. SEELYE. 

